Hogosha
by Jelp
Summary: Uchiha Itachi wanted to be many things when he grew up, but most of all, he wanted to be someone who protected the people and the village he loved. He wanted to be a hogosha. Itachi-centric fic.
1. Part I

I don't own Naruto, and I make no money writing this fic. This is an Itachi centered fic about his early childhood and what may have happened to lead him down the path he took. Rated M for violence.

Hogosha in Japanese for protector/guardian.

**Hogosha: Part I**

I was four when I first saw _him_.

Mother had gone out to see if she could help the wounded, Father amongst them. The messenger birds had circled overhead and _caw-cawed_ their message far and wide for people to come aid the wounded.

Mother had told me to stay home, even though I had already begun unofficial training to become a shinobi as most my age had due to the brutality of the Ninja Wars.

"Itachi-kun, stay here. You're too young." That was all she said. She expected my utter obedience.

She told me to stay because I wasn't old enough to go, but I wanted to go. I wanted to prove to my parents that I was a good son, and that I would be able to help Father. I was being trained as a shinobi after all, wasn't I? Didn't that mean I was ready to see the battlefields the grownups boasted about – the place where they claimed they had done great deeds and become heroes? Wasn't I ready to be a hero?

But no. I wasn't ready to see the battlefields then, despite what I thought. I wasn't nearly strong enough to be the kind of hero – the kind of protector Konoha deserved.

I was young, too young to even be trained as a ninja, but the Ninja Wars were still going on, and we needed basic training for survival. They trained us, barely more than toddlers, because they feared if too many adults died, we children would perish otherwise. They didn't want us to be untrained, defenseless orphans. The rogue, parentless children in other Ninja Countries slowed down many of the older ninja. If our parents fell, we would be dangerous – to enemy soldiers as much as to ourselves.

But I didn't know that at the time.

So I followed my mother anyway, using my newly acquired skills to hide from her. If I hadn't been so scared of getting caught and getting in trouble, I might have then truly appreciated my own young brilliance at staying undetected from her; I frequently forgot that she had been a jounin level ninja before she had taken on the full time responsibility of being my mother.

As it was, the choice to follow Mother to aid Father mortified me, mentally scarring me for years to come.

It took much longer than I had anticipated getting to the battlefield, a trek much different than going to the market. No, this was long, seemingly longer due to the constant need to hide myself from my mother who repeatedly looked over her shoulder, as though she knew I followed.

The stench told me that we had come upon the battlefield before I had even laid eyes on it. There is nothing quite as disgusting as the metallic rusting of blood spilt upon the dusty ground, a hot summer's sun beating upon the dead bodies to make the foul smell intensify ten-fold, coupled with the smell of charred flesh, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from throwing-up.

Katon jutsu made the air smell rank, and the raiton jutsu made it smell even worse from sizzled and crackled skin.

Bodies littered the open field. The blood soaked into the once dry soil, the dirt caking to form a deep crimson, bloodied mud.

Some of the wounded cried out for help while others did what they could to give their aid.

No one should have to see something like that, least alone a four-year-old child.

My body gave a spasm, a dry heave wracking my body even as I tried to cover my nose from the smell. I fell to my knees in horror, my mind not wanting to process what it saw.

I recognized one of the men who lay dead on the ground. With shock, I realized his head wasn't actually attached. Instead it lay severed from his body which rested mere centimeters away.

My initial horror at the appalling scene made me lose sight of my mother. Finally realizing I was alone – even though I was surrounded by many – I panicked. It was more than terror, more than I could handle. My body wasn't frozen still in horror, but violently moving, shaking with utter fear and panic.

I didn't notice the tears streaming down my face because I was too numb feel.

Where should I go? What should I do? Why had I been so foolish, so very foolish to think that I could help here? Where were my parents?

All I could do was wrap my arms around my body, as though to will away the scene in front of me.

I didn't know how long I stayed hunched on my knees, unsure and terrified of what to do.

But then the enemy launched another attack.

I heard the whizzing of kunai, so much sharper and deadlier sounding than my own feeble attempts at kunai training. The voices of the war cries sounded deep and mature compared to my own childish grunts when the village elders showed me how to do it.

An explosion to my right finally jolted me from my stupor, making me duck for cover, debris flying through the air as rocks and bloodied dirt rained down upon me. The battle raged so much louder than I had imagined. Whizzing kunai, exploding tags, and an array of jutsu made deafeningly explosive sounds.

I began to shake and cry harder, utter terror overcoming me, ten times worse than I had felt just looking at the bloodied battlefield.

"Mama...Papa..." I whispered frightened.

Any ninja who could still fight did so. Those who had been helping the wounded, and even some of the wounded, rallied to fight back.

Off to my right, a woman used a katon jutsu, horribly scorching her target.

I could smell the man's burning flesh from where I stood while he screamed in painful agony as he burned alive.

The kunoichi, however, had little time to savor her victory as a man used a suiton jutsu that knocked the woman off her feet and into a rock nearby.

A man just a stone's throw away stood up, his arm a bloody mess, a feral look of rage upon his face. He had tied his Konoha headband around his upper shoulder to stop a large wound from bleeding. The reflective surface shone brightly in the sunlight, flashing like lightening across the Konoha Leaf symbol.

It seemed impossible that the sun should shine upon such a horrible scene, yet it did so, lighting up the face of the enraged ninja who seated profusely in its rays.

His face contorted in deepest anger and hatred as he drew a katana from his back with his good arm. He took a step forward, but then his body lurched backward as a kunai embedded itself into his exposed forehead, his eyes wide as his body fell.

I've always worn my Konoha headband on my forehead since that moment. It would have saved his life. The folly of his death saved mine years later. He should have used extra gauze, an essential necessity I also made sure to keep a heady stock of in my pouches.

More kunai and more explosions littered the air, and I thought for sure death would find me as it had the shinobi with a kunai jutting out of his head.

Fear gripped me like a physical being, preventing me from doing anything. I couldn't move. I couldn't cry out. I couldn't even breathe.

And then I saw _him_.

The man had appeared out of seemingly no where!

He stood in the midst of the battle. It seemed that all eyes turned to watch him. He faced the enemy with his back straight, his head held high. His blond hair shone bright against the dark, bloodied mud, as though the sun had waited for him to appear upon such a dark scene. The sun had known it would be needed here to shine down upon his presence and glory.

Who was this brave man?

His cape had bright red kanji down the center that I recognized but didn't process immediately. When I did, I felt even more awestruck.

It was our new Hokage.

Even as I felt a strange sense of hope welling up in me at the appearance of this strange man, he moved like a blur from my sight. For a moment, I feared I had dreamt him up before I realized what was going on. The enemy dropped where they were as a blur of yellow flashed across the surrounding battlefield.

His nickname, the Yellow Flash, was truly accurate.

In a matter of minutes I could hear distant frightened yells of the enemy shinobi retreating, finally muffled as a roar of triumph swept the Konoha ninjas.

"Chase them!" someone cried from the crowd, excitedly urging our Hokage onward

"No. I need to protect my people first. We must get the injured to safety in case they come back for an attack." He didn't even bother to look at the man as his eyes were already focused on an injured ninja, his hands pulling out gauze to temporarily wrap the wound on the ninja's torso.

"You must defend Konoha! Kill them all!" another man shouted, enraged. The Hokage shook his head once.

"I am protecting Konoha, just not as you see it. Right now our enemy is far away from our loved ones! If we chase them we're heading into their border. They will fight harder on their land because we will be threatening _their_ loved ones. Our duty is to protect our own: not kill others. Konoha is not mere buildings or even a place with borders. Konoha is its people. Saving their lives is more important than killing the lives of others. Needless deaths and needles killings should be prevented. If we can save more lives by fighting, then we should do so, but not if it destroys more live than it would save. Killing others should only be used as a last resort. If everyone realized that, then perhaps the wars would end, and we would finally have _peace_. Our people are dying here, and they're more important to save than to go after others and destroy." Even as he spoke his hands moved deftly, stopping the blood flow of the wounded ninja before him.

_ ... Konoha is its people. Saving their lives is more important than killing the lives of others. Death should only occur when it saves more lives than it destroys..._

His eyes turned to sweep the battlefield, taking in everything – even seeing _me_. Our gazes locked for a moment, and I think the sight of me startled him. I felt slightly embarrassed, reading his look of surprise at seeing a child at a battlefield. I felt even more foolish. I was young, too young, just like Mother had said.

Even so, any embarrassment faded away as he gave me a gentle, kind smile. I felt a deep sense of hope come over me that this man could stop bad things from happening. Hadn't I just seen so myself?

"Attacking is not a good choice of action. Protecting is. It's better to be a protector than a destroyer. After all, a strong defense is the best attack."

_Protector._ He was our protector. I smiled at him, feeling as though he meant those words for me and me alone.

I wanted to be a protector, a _hogosha_, just like him.

The moment between us was broken when Mother came running up to me, hugging me tight, scolding me for following after her, fussing over my wellbeing. After making sure I was okay, she went back to Father. He was surprised, but seemed pleased and proud that I had come to his aid.

Even so, as soon as my father's wounds were wrapped, Mother quickly ushered me back to the illusion of security I called home.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

For those who are also Sasuke and Naruto, also uploaded a short fic called A Debt to Pay today. For any Detective Conan fans, I have a separate account called JelpHasNails where I'll be posting those fics (only one loaded so far). For Star Wars fans, uploaded the next chapter of Shooting Star. Hope you enjoyed the first of the three parts to this story. ~ Jelp


	2. Part II

I don't own Naruto, and I make no money writing this fic. Hogosha in Japanese for protector/guardian.

**Hogosha: Part II**

I was five when I first spoke with _him_ face to face. He had come to the Academy to speak with the young ninja about our futures. The Ninja Wars had subsided to nothing more than rogue skirmishes in the year since I had stumbled upon the horrific scene at the battlefield. We were winning because of _him_, our beloved Hokage.

Now that danger wasn't an immediate threat, changes were happening at the Academy, but we were still important to Konoha, or so he told us. No one else would need to start training so young, and we would have more time to hone our skills.

We would not start our official training yet. It would be like it had been since I was four. They would teach us a few simple lessons here and there for protection but nothing formal, or officially formal, until we turned six. My birthday was June 9th and it was July 22nd. I had ten months, two weeks, and four days left before I could be formally admitted to the Ninja Academy. I expected to have learned everything before that time, so that when I got to the Academy, I could become a genin right away.

Hokage-sama spoke about the importance of teamwork. His words were wise, but how could I follow his ideas when I had no team? I wouldn't be in a team with anyone for at least a year because they now refused our formal admittance to the Academy. For some reason, they expected us to be children even after all we had been through.

I guessed I would just have to protect my teammates from harm when I got them, and do what I could and hope for a competent jounin instructor.

Yondaime spoke for some time, debriefing us on what was expected of us now, the types of menial tasks that were just as important as had been during the Ninja Wars. Helping to rebuild Konoha was a big task, and it would help give us experience for when we started D Rank missions.

The room was muggy in the hot summer afternoon, the air felt heavy as some of the younger pre-Academy students started having trouble paying attention.

Even when I glared at them it didn't seem to rouse their attention. It later led me to hours of research to see if the sharingan could instill motivation in others by a mere glance.

Of course, it didn't help that Yondaime's smile seemed to put everyone at ease, his voice calm and soothing. The Ninja Wars were more or less over, so now the flux of ninjas was not needed to be trained so young, and because of that, it was clear that he wanted us to act more like children and less like trained killers – even if I didn't agree.

At the end of his talk, the other young would-be-ninja-students filed out. Yondaime stayed behind and spoke with the chuunin teacher, and I couldn't help but linger a moment longer to hear him speak.

As it was, I didn't have to make up an excuse to stay behind.

"Itachi-kun, wait a moment," Yondaime spoke, and I stopped, surprised. He knew my name!

I looked from the chuunin instructor to Yondaime, wondering if they'd been talking about me. Grown-ups seemed to do that about me for some reason. They frequently told me I was a genius. I turned slowly, trying to suppress the smile from my face, wondering if they had just been talking about how smart I was, wondering if Yondaime himself would tell me I was a genius.

"I hear you're going to be a big brother very soon."

"Y-yes," was the only word I could manage.

Somehow, I felt let down. I had wanted him to praise me like my father did, and the other grown-ups did. I had wanted him to tell me he had remembered me from that horrible battlefield like I had remembered him.

Then again, I had been useless. Maybe...maybe he had told the teacher how I had frozen, and that they didn't want a shinobi like me in Konoha? Giving me a searching look, Yondaime suddenly smiled at me kindly, and I felt the fear that he would dismiss me drain away.

"Your cousin Obito-kun spoke very highly of you: about how good of a ninja you will become. That's important to Konoha, but that's also important to your younger sibling as he or she grows. You'll need to be a protective older brother. Being a big brother is one of the most important responsibilities now. Do everything in your power to keep your younger sibling safe. That is _your duty for_ _now_."

"Sir?" I said, confused at his words.

"I know you'll do your best." He ruffled my hair affectionately. "If you see anything, _anything _at all that could endanger the future of you unborn sibling's safety here in Konoha, tell me immediately. I will do what I can to prevent bad things from happening to him or her. I promise."

He turned from me back to the chuunin instructor who was looking at the Hokage with as much confusion as I felt.

I didn't understand till years later why he had said those words to me, even though they ended up having an effect on my life almost immediately.

The next day, my baby brother, Sasuke, was born.

* * *

I heeded Yondaime's words, so that the next time I saw him, it was because I was following his orders to tell him what I found out.

And it was bad.

Worse than bad. It was horrific.

The afternoon had a bright blue sky, though no one could mistake the chill in the October air. Years later I would remember it feeling very like the calm before a storm.

Two and half months had passed and the seeds of Yondaime's words had rooted.

The man himself was a true genius, and as he planned, I sought him out when I got wind of something that could harm my baby brother.

I never felt that I had gotten to him in time, despite telling myself over and over again things would have been worse if I hadn't searched him out at all.

I went to the Hokage Tower, but he wasn't there. Very few seemed to know where he was, and it made me feel even more afraid than I already was.

Fortune smiled upon Konoha just as she prepared to spit upon it, and luckily I ran into Sandaime.

"Where's Yondaime-sama?"

Sandaime looked at me critically, his wrinkled eyes bunching up more as he frowned at me. He seemed ancient, especially compared to Yondaime. Seeing him also filled me with dread. Why was he here when Yondaime was the new Hokage?

"A very personal matter has come up, and Yondaime-sama is not available today."

"He told me I had to tell him if...if...I have to tell him!"

More fear filled me.

It would be my fault; somehow I knew it was my fault. I hadn't found Yondaime in time. Those _horrible_ people would go on with their plan. I hadn't paid as close attention as I should have. I might have overhead them earlier! Today was the day, and I just found out about it this morning. It was all my fault! I should have paid better attention sooner! One of the men had been skulking around a lot, and if I had just listened, I would have known something was wrong. I should have gotten a better look at their faces, especially the one I had seen around a lot.

Instead, I had avoided him because I had gotten a bad feeling every time I had seen him. Now I knew why, and he was going to make terrible things happen.

There would be so many dead, again, just like on the battlefield.

I could see the startled look of the man with the kunai sticking out of his forehead flash before my eyes. The bodies of the wounded and the soaked earth colored with blood. I could see the man I had recognized with his decapitated head lying unattached from his body.

Mother, Father, and baby Sasuke...they would end up like that, wouldn't they?

I put my hands on my head, imagining terrible pictures. Sandaime placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I felt some of my tension leave me. I followed the line of his hand up his arm and finally looked into his very, very wrinkled face.

The way his hand gripped my shoulder made me remember that my father had said with age comes wisdom and experience. That, and Sandaime had a _really_ strong grip for such an old person. He was still strong, so maybe he could help after all.

"This is important, isn't it?" Sandaime asked me.

"They want a baby to carry it like in the other Villages! Someone they can control easier."

Sandaime's face went blank.

I was a genius, but at five, I didn't understand why it was odd that he didn't ask who "they" were of what "it" was. Thankfully he knew more about what I was talking about than I did.

"I see. That changes everything. You must go to his house and warn Yondaime immediately! No time to waste!" He gave me quick directions that I repeated in my head as my mantra, before he all but shoved me on my way.

Part of me felt glad that he understood those words, even though I didn't, at least, not fully.

I skidded to a halt in front of a small little home, smaller than mine, and it surprised me slightly. I expected Yondaime to live in a big mansion or something. He was so amazing; didn't he live in the most amazing house too? Even so, I didn't have time to ponder that, even as I skidded on some rocks and stumbled slightly as I ran up the path to his front door.

I banged on the door frantically.

Yondaime opened the door and looked at me. He seemed worried by my appearance, but more curious than actually surprised at my presence.

I tried to speak, but suddenly realized how out of breath I was.

"They want – the baby – for it!" I managed to wheeze on. Yondaime's face froze.

"What?"

"You said – to warn you – if there was – _pant_ – anything that might hurt Sasuke-"

"Sasuke?"

"My baby brother!" I took a deep breath to calm down my breathing. "They – the bad men – they said they were after a baby. So, that...that meant my baby brother Sasuke, right?"

I paused, sudden doubt filling me. It had seemed to me that's what they had meant. Yondaime had said to look after my baby brother. He had told me to. Now, thinking about what those men had said, maybe they hadn't meant Sasuke at all. I should have tried to double check.

"Should I have brought Sasuke here, to – to protect him?"

Yondaime's face snapped back down to look at me. His eyes searched mine, and there was a strong look of fear in them. It was so strong that I backed away from him. The look vanished as a burning determination spread over his face.

"Yes. Bring him here. Hurry, but don't be obvious about it. Pack some things. Tell your parents it's a mission. I'm making it a mission. Rank B, top secret to bring him here and keep him safe."

I opened my mouth, startled. "Yessir!"

I turned and ran, set to due my duty for Konoha.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to Witchy Bitch. :) Hope you all enjoyed the second of the three parts. ~ Jelp


	3. Part III

I don't own Naruto, and I make no money writing this fic. Hogosha in Japanese for protector/guardian.

**Hogosha: Part III**

That night, at only five years of age, was the last night I saw _him_ alive, yet his face would haunt me until my dying breath.

It was easier than I thought possible to complete my mission and get Sasuke out of the house. No sooner had I walked in the door my mother told me to take Sasuke and go to one of my aunt or uncle's homes for the night.

I thought perhaps she knew that Yondaime had asked me to keep Sasuke safe since mothers know everything. I didn't question it then, but years later I would truly understand why she essentially told me to hide.

It is ironic how grown-ups always tell kids that they will understand things when they get older. I didn't believe it when I was younger. Ironically I finally understood that saying when I got older.

If only I had known all the details then, my life would have turned out different, better, and less painful.

When I arrived back at Yondaime's house, pride swelled up within me. I had completed the B Rank mission. Yet when I got there, Yondaime hardly seemed to give me a sparing glance. They (he and the other grown-ups who kept flitting in through his house) were busy doing something, and I understood that it must be important, but I wanted him to notice what I had done. The only thing he had told me upon arriving was to watch Sasuke.

I sat on Yondaime's couch with Sasuke in my lap and found out that Sasuke was a quiet, boring baby. He didn't do much except coo at me and wave his chubby hand at my face. He pulled my hair once too.

I glared at him, and he laughed. Or at least, I think it was a baby laugh.

Sighing, I bounced Sasuke on my lap a couple of times like I had seen Mother doing, and I listened to Sasuke gurgle happily.

Lots of people came in and out of the house. I recognized some people that had come in: Sandaime, Jiraiya-sama (Yondaime's old sensei), and Kakashi-san (Yondaime's student) amongst them.

I knew Kakashi because my cousin Obito had been a genin under Yondaime. When Obito died, Kakashi had received one of his sharingan eyes.

Other people I recognized but didn't know their names came in and quite frequently looked over at my baby brother and me with strange looks. No one spoke about what was going on until I finally heard Sandaime and Yondaime talking in low whispers about something called Naruto, and how they had planned on forcing Yondaime to use Naruto instead of one of their own. He seemed furious that they had found out Naruto's due date. It made little sense to me.

They were talking at the bottom of the steps, and I thought I might finally be able to figure out what was going on when a woman's shriek split the air. The color drained from Yondaime's face, and he dashed up the steps.

Sandaime shook his head and called after him, "I will do what I can till you arrive!" before he turned and exited through the front door.

Even though I had been so bored just babysitting Sasuke, it surprised me when darkness fell. More time had passed than I had realized. Most all the shinobi had left the house. I think the only trained ninja who was left was Yondaime-sama. Yet there was still at least two other people besides Yondaime – both women. In fact, one had come down and made sure that Sasuke and I got food.

In the middle of fixing me some soup, I saw that she was crying.

"What's the matter?" I asked. She smiled at me gently as more tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't answer.

As soon as she went back upstairs, Yondaime came back down. For the first time that night, he really looked at me.

"Itachi-kun," he said, kneeling down so that our eyes were on the same level. He placed one of his large hands on the back of the kitchen chair. He seemed so different from Father, and for a moment, I wished he were my father. There was something about him that made me want to tell him how scared I was, and how I hoped he would make it better.

His face was covered in sweat, and he seemed exhausted. Even now, I felt that he would be able to fix whatever was wrong.

"You're very smart and very mature for your age. I don't know that I could trust some of the Chuunin with this, but I need your help. Do you understand?" I nodded. "When Kakashi-kun and Jiraiya come back, I need you to tell them something. You know who they both are?" I nodded again. "Good. I need you to tell them they must take care of Naruto. It was Naruto all along, not you or Sasuke that would be used as a vessel. Naruto has the body type – it wasn't about the eyes at all."

His words jolted me.

"Not...not me? Not Sasuke? What-?"

"Obito-kun noticed many things, things he didn't understand. Thankfully he loved to talk about anything and everything to me. He was very brave, the bravest Uchiha that I have ever met, and I have met many from the Uchiha clan. Now I need you to be even braver than Obito-kun."

I sat up straight, my heart thumping in my chest. I would. I would do whatever he asked of me.

"You must grow up strong. You must love your family, love your brother, but always, _always_ protect Konoha. Even if the rest of your family has forgotten, they too at one point and time wanted Konoha to prosper through peace. And no matter who the leader of Konoha is, it's the people who matter. It's the children who matter most. You matter. You and your brother and the little ones who will come after you matter...my son too."

"Your son?"

"My wife is having a baby boy. We're going to name him Naruto. And when I am gone, he will be a hero; remember that. A true hero! Brave and strong even before he's a day old. So remember to tell Kakashi-kun and Jiraiya to take care of him."

"And I promise I will protect him and Konoha and Sasuke too when you're gone!" I promised.

Yondaime smiled at me in a way my parents never had. My parents had smiled at me to show how proud they were because I was their son. Yondaime smiled at me because he truly believed in me.

It was a remarkable feeling.

"Minato!" a woman's voice, I guessed his wife, shouted from above. He squeezed my shoulder and went up the steps.

I made sure to wipe off Sasuke's mouth after his bottle and took him to sit in the dark living room. I rocked him until he fell asleep like Mother did. I put him in the basket that I had brought him in and thought about what Yondaime had said.

He said to tell Jiraiya and Kakashi to protect Naruto when he was gone. I wondered when he was leaving and how long he would be gone for. It seemed strange that he couldn't tell Kakashi and Jiraiya himself before he left. Even so, I would make sure to tell them!

Another shriek filled the air, but this time it wasn't from upstairs. It came from outside.

"Monster!" Someone shrieked.

"A demon!" Another voice screamed.

Horror swept through me. In all of my fear, I had forgotten the plans of those men. I hadn't even told anyone what they looked like, let alone their whole plan! I ran up the steps to tell Yondaime only to find him gone.

The woman who had come down the steps to fix my dinner was now crying in a chair next to a bed. A sickly looking woman lay on the large bed, her face extremely pale, her reddish hair damp and sticking to her face. She must be Yondaime's wife, and it looked like his wife was either dead or dying.

Mortified, the image of her pale, sickly face swam in my vision, and I ran back down the steps and out the front door wondering why the woman in the chair wasn't helping her.

Pushing her from my mind, I focused on trying to figure out where everyone was, especially Yondaime, so I could tell him about the men I had overheard.

I thought Yondaime must be at the battle, protecting everyone. My feet slowed.

The battle…it would be just like that first battle I had seen. I didn't want to go. I really didn't. But if I didn't, what would happen to everyone? Taking a deep breath, I made myself move.

I ran toward the sounds of fighting and screaming, looking above me to see the nightmare that I had heard about, the terror that had been unleashed on Konoha because I wasn't fast enough. The monstrous _thing_ towered over the trees: Kyuubi, the nine-tailed demon fox.

The enormous fox demon snarled and roared into the night as his nine, prehensile tails whizzed through the air, cracking like nine deadly whips.

It was my fault that the demon had been unleashed by those horrible men who I had forgotten, so _stupidly_ forgotten, to tell Yondaime about!

I didn't want to run toward the monster, but no one but me knew who had unleashed him. I had to tell Yondaime! I had to protect Konoha and baby Sasuke and baby Naruto.

"Yondaime-sama!" I hollered, running into the woods. "Yondaime-sama! I'm so sorry! I forgot to tell you!" I ran through trees, watching as men screamed in terror and rage. "Yondai-"

My words were cut off as someone grabbed me around the middle, which knocked the wind out of me with an, "_oomph_." The person who grabbed me started running with me in the opposite direction. I was so stunned that it took me a moment to realize I recognized who had me in his arms.

"Get back! Everyone get back!" Kakashi held me tightly in his arms and was running away from the battle. I looked up into the night's sky as the silhouette of Yondaime standing on top of a giant toad appeared, joining the shadowy figure of the howling fox with nine tails.

"I have to help!" I yelled, struggling against Kakashi's grip.

"We can't!" he shouted back, sounding miserable.

I noticed I wasn't the only younger one being carried away kicking and screaming. Someone older than me with brown hair in a pony-tail was calling for his parents, tears streaming down his face.

Had people died…? Had they died because of me…?

I clung to Kakashi, no longer struggling against him, the weight of guilt making me unable to protest.

Kakashi ran with me until we reached the end of the forest line. He made me promise that I would return back to Yondaime's house as well as giving me a sharp slap across the face for leaving my brother there by himself.

He ran back into the woods, swallowed by the darkness of the trees and the night.

I ran back to Yondaime's house, not wanting to be out alone with the terrible shrieking noise of the demon crackling through the air. My tears ran in streaks across my face as I ran, feeling utterly alone and useless.

I had finally realized that when Yondaime had said "when he was gone," he meant that he didn't expect to return from the battle. He was going to die, and it was my fault. He was going to take care of the demon with his life. I hadn't warned him in enough time, and I hadn't given him enough information.

The house felt eerie and disturbing when I returned, and I felt foolish for leaving Sasuke there by himself. I think there was still another woman there, but I wasn't sure. I didn't want to walk up the steps and see the body of Yondaime's wife again.

Thankfully Sasuke was still sleeping.

It felt horrible and lonely in the house, and I was sure that Yondaime's wife must be dead. Women died in child birth. Mother had told me.

Would Yondaime die too?

I took Sasuke, still sleeping, from his basket and held him. I felt useless, and I had practically broken my promise to Yondaime that I would keep Sasuke safe almost as soon as I had made it.

I fell asleep despite the sounds of the great demon howling nearby, holding my baby brother in my arms. When I finally awoke, a group of people had gathered in the living room.

At first, I almost jumped. Everyone was so silent except for a few soft sniffles, and the sound of a weak baby crying. I looked down at Sasuke, but it wasn't him.

I clutched Sasuke to my arms, and even though he wasn't crying, he was awake, giving soft cooing sounds as he reached out with his chubby hand to reach for something in the middle of the room. A blond haired baby cried and writhed in his basket, surrounded by a circle of candles. I noticed there was a black seal on the center of his stomach.

Jiraiya and Kakashi were there, staring at the baby. Jiraiya's eyes darted behind the circle of candles. With a jolt I realized Yondaime's body had been laid there.

He was dead.

I held Sasuke closer to me and avoided looking at Yondaime's dead body because it was my fault. If I had figured it out sooner, maybe he would have thought of a plan that hadn't involved his death.

I watched the baby in the circle of candles crying, crying for his mother and father. I wanted to cry knowing he would never be held by either of them. A jolt went through me as I pictured the face of his dead mother, and I unwillingly glanced at Yondaime's face again, and then back at little Naruto's.

The baby looked just like his father. This time I couldn't tear my eyes away from baby Naruto, wondering if he would be like Yondaime. I remembered that Yondaime had called him a hero. He was a hero like his father, and I wasn't.

But I wanted to be. I wanted to be a hero like Naruto and Yondaime.

Looking at him, I was slightly surprised to see three lines beginning to slowly appear on each of his chubby cheeks. They got darker and darker until they looked like thin whiskers. It was a slight mar in the perfect replication of Yondaime's face. Even despite the lines, he looked just like Yondaime.

Yondaime's face would haunt me through the face of his son, reminding me until the day I died of the promise I had made to become a protector, a protector to Konoha, Sasuke, and the little boy with Yondaime's face.

**End.**

Something a bit different to get me back into the swing of writing. Hope you enjoyed it! ~ Jelp


End file.
